So the rabbit sat on the ground below the eagle and rested. All of a sudden a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit, and ate it.
Moral of the story: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;–
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
A Psalm of Life (excerpt), Henry Longfellow Wadsworth
We’ve all been to one. Many of us have been involved in one. And many more of you have planned, hosted, enjoyed, (survived), and celebrated your own. As I now stand at the outset of my own engagement, I am like a sponge ready to soak up the collective wedding wisdom that abounds in my community. Tell us what we need to know!
Post in comments. Post on our Facebook walls. Send us emails. Call us. Tweet us. Do whatever you must, just don’t keep your experience, advice, and counsel to yourself!
We’ll never know the price that was paid by the heroic man who dared to smuggle this information out of the domain of women. In order to not regard his heroism in vain and because it was sent to me for my benefit, I now pass it on to all the men who can make use of this…
The Real Definition of Words When Used By Women
“Fine”
I am right. This argument is over. You need to shut up.
“That’s Okay”
One of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. “That’s okay” means she wants to think hard and long before deciding when and how you’ll pay for your mistake.
“Nothing”
The calm before the storm. This means “something” and you better be on your toes. Note: arguments that start with “Nothing” usually end with “Fine” (See #1).
“Five Minutes”
If getting dressed, this means half an hour. (Don’t be mad about this. It’s the same definition for you when it’s your turn to do some chores around the house.
“Thanks”
A woman is thanking you. Do not question this or faint. Just say, “You’re welcome,” and let it go.
Loud Sigh
Not actually a word but rather a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. It means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is standing here wasting her time arguing with you about “Nothing.” (See #3)
“Go Ahead”
This is a dare, not permission. (don’t do it!)
“Don’t worry about it, I got it”
The second most dangerous statement a woman can make. It means that a woman has asked a man several times to do something and is now doing it herself. (This will result in you asking at a later date, “What’s wrong?” For the woman’s response, see #3.)
Biting Lower Lip
I’m going to need some help with this one. It happened to me the other night and I still have no idea what I did wrong…
An ordinary boy, a weak son, would have submitted, have felt ashamed of his father, sir, but he stood up for his father against them all. For his father and for truth and for justice. For what he suffered when he kissed your brother’s hand and cried to him ‘forgive father, forgive him,’– that only God knows– and I, his father. For our children– not your children, but ours– the children of the poor gentlemen looked down upon by everyone– know what justice means, sir, even at nine years old. How should the rich know? They don’t explore such depths once in their lives. But at that moment in the square when he kissed his hand, at that moment my Ilusha had grasped all that justice means.
The captain to Alyosha, The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoevsky
Micro Entreprenuer in the Dominican Republic
Entrepreneurship is not about getting one over on the customer. It’s not about working on your own. It’s not about looking out for number one. It’s not necessarily about making a lot of money. It is absolutely not about letting work take over your life. On the contrary, it’s about turning what excites you in life into capital, so that you can do more of it and move forward with it.
Richard Branson
Sedona in September
It is my right to be uncommon—if I can.
I seek opportunity—not security. I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the state look after me.
I want to take the calculated risk; to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed.
I refuse to barter incentive for a dole. I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence; the thrill of fulfillment to the stale calm of utopia.
I will not trade freedom for beneficence nor my dignity for a handout. I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat.
It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid; to think and act for myself, enjoy the benefit of my creations and to face the world boldly and say, “This I have done.”
By Dean Alfange
______________
*Originally published in This Week Magazine.
Later printed in The Reader’s Digest, October 1952 and January 1954.
The Honorable Dean Alfange was an American statesman born December 2, 1899, in Constantinople (now Istanbul). He was raised in upstate New York. He served in the U.S. Army during World War I and attended Hamilton College, graduating in the class of 1922.
Found at www.daveramsey.com on Sunday, October 26, 2008.
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there’s some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
— Robert Frost, 1874-1963
“One of the drawbacks about adventures is that when you come to the most beautiful places you are often too anxious and hurried to appreciate them…”
The Horse and His Boy, C.S. Lewis, 1954
there must be more 